Pre-Race
I had all the normal nerves going into the event. It was a welcomed experience to feel these emotions as I hadn't felt them since last October at the 2019 Ironman World Championship. Eleven months without racing felt like an eternity but one thing felt familiar.....I was super excited to race.
Since Karel and I registered for this event around two weeks ago, we didn't have any expectations for this event. There was no Olympic specific training. As endurance athletes, our strength is being great at not slowing down. Fast is relative but we certainly didn't feel "fast" going into this event. Not having expectations helped to eliminate any pressure that we needed to prove something at this event.
The day before the event was a normal day. We both went out for a pre-race workout (~45 min interval bike followed by a ~20-minute run) and then went straight into work mode. Since the event was only ~1:15 away, we opted to stay at home and head to the race venue early on race morning. In typical fashion, I packed for the event several day before the event and Karel packed on Friday. It was a weird feeling to pack our transition bags as it wasn't as cumbersome as an Ironman but we felt a bit rusty planning our gear for a short course triathlon race. Karel tuned up our Ventum bikes and got them race ready on Thursday.
Nutrition was pretty standard (except no pre-race pizza as I normally do - instead we had pasta with a veggie packed marinara sauce with tofu on Thurs) on the day before the race. We went to bed earlier than normal and fell asleep around 8:30pm. Campy was not complaining about this early bedtime - although the cats were a bit confused.
Since this was a new race course for us, we reviewed the course map for the bike by looking at Google Earth. Karel went through the entire course so it was nice to see the actual course. We also looked at the running file from an athlete of ours who did the race a few years ago.
As usual, I found myself sleeping a bit light on Friday. A mix of excitement and nerves and wonder of the unknown kept my brain a bit awake as I tried to keep myself asleep throughout the night. Campy slept like a rock.
Race morning
The alarm was set for 4am but we both woke up around 3:45am. Madison and Ella (the cats/girls) were super excited about an early breakfast and Campy was a bit frustrated about his early wake-up call. After feeding the furry crew, Karel and I got everything ready and around 5:15am we left for the race. Karel ate his pre-race oatmeal at the house and I ate my typical waffles + PB + Syrup + Granola + Banana in the car. Karel also enjoyed a small guava pastry on the way to the race.
Of course - fitting with the theme of 2020 - it rained as soon as we left the house. It rained for about 15 minutes and then it stopped. And then it rained again. And then it stopped. Spoiler alert: This was the theme for the rest of the morning.
I felt a bit nervous as we made our way to Tugaloo State Park but it was a different type of nerves. The nerves were from a place of unknown and excitement. It had been a few years since we raced in an Olympic distance triathlon event. But once we arrived to the race venue, the nerves went away and all I felt was excitement. Karel felt some nerves earlier in the week but on Friday, he felt super calm and relaxed.
As far as the race changes due to COVID, we picked up our packet at the entrance to the park. We payed $5 to enter the park and then drove to a tent to get our packets. We turned in our signed handout (for COVID reasons) before getting our packets. The two volunteers had on masks and Karel (who was driving) also wore a mask when he got our packets. It was a very smooth process. There were volunteers directing us to a gravel parking lot which is where we parked (about 1/4 mile from the race venue/lake). Once we parked, we got our gear ready with the contents inside of the race packet (helmet sticker, bike sticker, disposable chip, bib number) and then made our way to the race venue. At this point, we saw many familiar faces including several of our athletes (we had 9 other Trimarnis racing). It was such a great feeling to be in the race environment. So far, everything felt normal - except that we wore a mask for the entire morning until we entered the water.
After walking our bikes to the transition area, we waited in line to enter the transition area. Another change due to COVID was only allowing 50 athletes in the transition area at once. The transition area also had bike racks where only 3 bikes were on each rack to ensure distancing. I know that many people are wishing for things to return to normal but this is a new normal that I would love to stay! It was great to have so much space in the transition area. There were no volunteers for body marking but they had markers available if we wanted to mark ourselves. The race officials and staff all had masks and every athlete (and spectator - although spectators were not encouraged to attend) had on a mask. It was great to see everyone following guidelines.
After laying out our transition area, it started to rain. Karel and I made our way to the pavilion area where we went to the bathroom (public restrooms) and got ready for a warm-up jog. I did a bit of dynamic stretching and then jogged around the finish line parking lot (away from people) for around 10 minutes before getting ready for a warm-up swim. I wore my mask for my warm-up jog as I was running by people at times. It was raining on and off all morning before the race. It was great to see more and more familiar faces and despite wearing masks, everything felt familiar and normal.
After putting on my swimskin, I made my way to the water which had a light layer of fog on it. The water temp was mid 80's so not wetsuits were allowed. Since it was raining, it wasn't hard getting into the water for a warm-up. I swam out to give a closer look at all the buoys on the course. Some of which were hard to see with the rain and light fog. My total warm-up was around 25 minutes (run and swim) and by the time I was finished, I was ready to get the race started.
We lined up 6-feet apart in rows for the time trial start. Masks were required until you started the event. There was a trash can to dispose of your mask at the start. Karel and I positioned ourselves near the front, a few rows back from the very front. The race director started two people at a time, around every 5 seconds. As soon as you reached the race director (who had on a mask) you could remove your mask before entering the water.
After this point, everything else felt normal. We swam, we biked and we ran and we crossed the finish line feeling accomplished and proud. In my next blog, I'll go into details about the race itself.
If I could offer a bit of hope to all the athletes reading this race report, don't give up. Although your training may look a bit different and you may feel lost with your self-identity and purpose as an athlete when there are no races on your schedule, the moment you step onto a race course you will remember why you never gave up on your training. If you have the opportunity to race in a safe environment, I encourage you to be smart but take advantage of the opportunity.
Opportunities allow us to experience something new, something different, something exciting, something scary or something unknown. Unfortunately, opportunities don't last forever. Seize the moment when it happens. Don't just wait for the "right" time.
This year is teaching us so much. Resilience, patience, flexibility, compassion, empathy. But it's also forcing us to take a chance at an opportunity.